Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Price Up 8.1% – Here’s Why

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) shot up 8.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $56.20 and last traded at $56.18. 2,460,528 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 4,517,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VKTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. B. Riley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.73.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of -58.61 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.24 and a 200 day moving average of $59.91.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,965 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,756.55. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,117 shares of company stock valued at $27,140,009 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.